Sheess, I didn't want to spend the rest of my life on global warming, but I welcome arguments on both sides of the issue, do you? The main thrust here is that the troposphere is being measured as cooling. There is no doubt that the surface is warming. There is much more mass at the surface. That is where the effects are, so how important is it if the troposphere is cooling, if indeed it is.
From the Union of Concerned Scientists site...
Myth:Computer models of climate change have predicted far more global warming than the satellite record actually shows. This proves that global warming is not occurring.
Reality: The satellite record is only one tool scientists use to evaluate changes in climate.
To downplay the threat of climate change, critics focus on outdated computer models and on satellite data available only since 1979 -- too short a period to assess climate trends. Current computer models incorporate recent improvements in scientific knowledge. For example, climatologists now know more about the atmospheric role of aerosols -- tiny particles suspended in the atmosphere -- and the circulation of oceans. The match between predictions from these models and 150 years of global surface temperature measurements (more reliable in climate terms than the brief satellite record) is close, though not exact. This discrepancy indicates that scientists still have more to learn about what influences the climate system.
But scientists base their evaluation of climate trends on much more than computer models and temperature records. Historical studies of glacier ice cores, tree rings, and coral growth layers have produced estimates of temperature and precipitation over much of the globe for the last 1,000 years. All these analyses show that the twentieth century is warmer than at any time in the last 1,000 years.
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And so the debate goes on, and some people are working to make our atmosphere cleaner, our power generation more efficient, cars more efficient, motors and lighting more efficient, while others do all they can to block progress. I'll stick with the former. If the former is wrong we'll have a much better quality of life. If the latter is wrong we have big trouble.
Del |
